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The Halloween Kids (TV series)
The Halloween Kids is a Canadian animated television series that aired from 2000 to 2002 on CTV. It was created by and based on the books by Elliot Strange and developed by Strange, Owen Emerson, Avi Tiran, Blair Peters and Chris Bartleman. The show aired in the US on The WB on their Kids' WB block. Production The Halloween Kids was produced by Nelvana Limited, Ironic Entertainment and Gecko Studios, in association with Studio B Productions and Warner Bros. Television. The pilot was completed in 1999 but didn't air until 2000, with ensuing episodes being made throughout early-2001 and airing late into the year. Studio B Productions handled pre-production, character design and layout duties. Animation would've be left in the hands of Nelvana, though it never came to fruition. Strange fought with network heads over the content of the pilot, with most networks wanting to make it more kid friendly. Strange brought on Blair Peters and Chris Bartleman of Studio B to help with re-writes. Through their efforts, Strange hired them as co-developers. Nelvana agreed to distribute the show domestically. The animation was produced by Hong Ying Animation, a studio both Nelvana and Studio B had outsourced to in the past. Co-developers Owen Emerson and Avi Tiran helped fund the pilot through the proceeds of their film careers and produced it through Ironic Entertainment; a joint venture between their respective companies. Warner Bros. Television distributed the show in the US. They had worked with Nelvana in the past (The Devil and Daniel Mouse, Beetlejuice, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Waynehead) and put money toward the project. Their involvement was what led to Strange pitching the show to The WB (though he also went with the network because he felt major kids networks wouldn't tolerate his ideas.) Fremantle handled distribution in international markets, coinciding with a deal Strange made with them to distribute his earlier works. This expired in 2001 and Warner Bros. usurped their contract. The show used Vancouver actors, though some selected Ontario actors were picked and used by Strange for most characters. Broadcast The show aired on CTV in Canada. Having been rejected by YTV, Strange wanted to go for a more general network to allow for more creative freedom. New episodes initially aired twice in a back-to-back marathon, though this was later changed to the next day at the same time. The show aired late at night, originally at 7:30 PM before moving to 6:00. Wanting to go with a network that wouldn't harm his creative freedom, Strange aimed for Fox and The WB, losing out on the former due to The Halloween Gang getting pitched. The show was aired on the Kids' WB block. Each episode reportedly aired only once and had little promotion due to its polarizing demographic aim. The show was reran locally through The WB Local 100+ Station Group. The show was also briefly made available on the In2TV streaming service before getting taken off for good around 2007. Plot The show is set in the fictional town of Belbury, a rural suburban community. In the books, Belbury is based somewhere in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont or southwestern Massachusetts, but due to the show's Canadian roots, it was left ambiguous, though it's suggested that Belbury was moved to either Alberta or Saskatchewan. Belbury was founded on Halloween by a group of alleged witches fleeing from Massachusetts. Belbury is a haunting ground and is populated by both normal humans and monsters, yet natives treat it no differently than any other place. Among the most prominent characters are the Slaatsky and Mahoney families. The Slaatskies, consisting of father Boris, mother Hanneke and daughters Selma and Jupiter, had recently returned to Belbury after an unexplained month-long absence. It isn't until the finale that we learn that Hanneke and Jupiter were cursed by a neighbor after the former lost a bet, becoming monsters when provoked; they had left in the hopes the rest of the neighborhood would forget about their destructive potential. The Mahoneys, consisting of matriarch Dakota, diva Adelaide, airhead Artemis, sporty and righteous Mabel, snooty Ellen, friendly punk Julie and twin siblings Jody and Judy, go about their lives as, ironically, the most normal family in Belbury. Jody and Judy have been in a constant feud due to the former's ego and the latter's anger issues and they tend to get the most focus out of everyone in the family. Judy hangs out with Julie in a gang of moralistic bullies while Jody finds himself becoming the leader of a fearsome clique. overtime, Jody learns to put others before himself and Judy mellows out as well. Structure Episodes feature a cold open. Most of the time they're used to establish the plot and wrap up any loose ends, other times they're played for laughs. In rare instances, the episode engages in what they call a Nedrush, where they show something that breaks the flow of the episode but mostly keeps with the plot, quickly establishing something important, often when the main plot comes out shorter than expected, and named for Ned who narrates these. Characters Prominent Characters The show had no set main characters. This denotes characters who appeared the most often. * Jupiter Slaatsky (Andrea Libman): Jupiter is a white-haired bubbly girl who for years found it difficult to express herself due to her father's attitude. She had an inferiority complex and felt uninterested in trying to make a name for herself. For years she had held back feelings of anxiety, resentment and malevolence toward Boris and Suzy, which manifested into a dark form that overcame her and turned her into a monster, in Suziopath. Jupiter is revealed to be a vessel for one of the spirits from the Raven Stakes' coup, leading to her white hair (akin to Suzy being possessed by a corrupt spirit and getting black hair.) Early in the first season, Jupiter had a running gag where she had a bizarre obsession with blue jeans. * Selma Slaatsky (Janyse Jaud): Selma takes after her father, and tends to be abrasive and crude, inhibiting her from making friends. This reflects on her school life, where she tends to bully most of her female peers. Selma is into sports that mainly involve the use of rackets, specifically tennis, badminton and lacrosse, plus she has a hefty appetite. She has a dysfunctional relationship with Jupiter and tends to bully her; this is mainly out of jealousy for the fact that Jupiter is hardly affected by the mostly dysfunctional nature of their parents. Deep down, Selma was troubled and felt too scared to express her true feelings. Over the course of the series, she opens up and even makes peace with Jupiter. * Boris Slaatsky (Long John Baldry): Hanneke's husband and the father of Selma and Jupiter. Boris is a Russian immigrant, and a bumbling idiot who has seemingly given up on life. His mindset was spurred by encounters during the Red Scare, where every attempt at him trying to help was deterred by everyone's paranoia at the time. This, along with his strong admiration for Lyndon B. Johnson inspiring him to proceed with destructive acts. Boris takes his less offensive actions with good humor and is willing to let his wife be with people that hate him, as is allowing the kids to make their own decisions (though this is often misconstrued as gross negligence.) * Hanneke Slaatsky (nee Demke) (Kathleen Barr): Boris' wife. Hanneke clashes heavily with her husband and is not ashamed of it. He had viewed her lowly for years, seeing her as a means to an end, and as a result she became apathetic to their marriage. When she's not with Boris, she is more comfortable with being herself, as in a partier and a sports fan. She works at a news station, though the extent of that job has never been revealed, she's firmly established to be the source of the family's income. From Safford, Arizona. * Dakota Mahoney (Jayne Eastwood): Delta's daughter and Artemis and Julie's mother. Dakota is a pro-wrestler who seems to be more obsessed with her body image than Enid, with the two serving as friendly rivals. Dakota tends to be rough and is prone to angry outbursts, and due to her line of work she is unable to always be there for her family, but whenever a crisis occurs, she's willing to drop everything to help. She was a three-time champion at a local wrestling club in her hometown. Dakota is part Scottish and part Irish. From Wausau, Wisconsin. * Julie Mahoney (Kathleen Barr): A punk girl who often takes the role of a contrarian. She used to be a prominent street rat until she got the chance to turn her life around. Julie holds a strong moral compass and sticks up for much weaker individuals, though she tends to be very sarcastic to most people she isn't fond of. Julie used to be a typical girly girl, but after breaking due to years of mockery, devolved to he current phase and made it her own. * Artemis Mahoney (Megan Fahlenbock): Julie's older sister, the middle child of the family. Artemis is a street-wise individual who shares a similar moralistic view to Julie. She also tends to be naive, going along with anything no matter how insane it is. She is picky about who she wants to follow, and is quick to chastise anyone she suspects of being fake. Artemis is friends with Yorba, her equivalent. * Adelaide Mahoney (Stacey DePass): The eldest daughter in the Dallows. Adelaide has psychic powers, which she keeps secret and uses to keep tabs on those she's against. She has a typical love/hate relationship with Artemis and Julie, namely due to differing personalities. In spite of this, Adelaide does care for her family, and her nature seems to be due to her wanting to preserve order in the house. Adelaide is friends with Mercury and Linda, and she tends to use the latter to cover for her. * Ellen Mahoney (Tegan Moss): Julie's cousin. Starkly contrasting to Julie, Ellen is a civilized and somewhat feminine girl. She had attended private school after suffering a mental breakdown at her old one and was absent for a majority of the show. At first, she served as a rival to Julie due to the latter unknowingly humiliating her years ago, but both reconcile. She had greater reservations toward Judy due to her anger issues, but this later resolves itself. * Jody and Judy Mahoney (Samuel Vincent and Tabitha St. Germain): Twins, as well as a year Julie's senior. Jody is a narcissist and Judy tends to get the worst of it, though he seems to be more aware of his behavior than others believe as he tries to justify what he does with no expectancy of total forgiveness. He also makes good on promises, doing whatever he can to fulfill them and is against cheating. Judy is more laidback, but suffers from anger issues. She tends to beat up Jody and obsess about factors of him that she hates the most. She is unaware of her own behavior and likes to believe she is morally right, but this leads to severe ramifications. In spite of this, both work together when the situation demands it. * Mabel Mahoney (Jenn Forgie): A sports fanatic, and third eldest daughter. Mabel serves as a middle ground in an otherwise dysfunctional family and is on good terms with Jody, always being there to give him advice and defend him depending on the situation. She has taken a sports scholarship and attends a different school, as a result she isn't seen as often in episodes that don't center on Julie or her family. The Survivors A clique consisting of kids who have gotten out of trouble, while embarrassing those who tried to do the same to them. Was created by Jody after he saved the cliques from getting reprogramed in Don't Ask How I Spent My Summer Vacation. * Stacy MacPherran (Chiara Zanni): A fizzy yet trashy girl. In spite of her affiliation, she is close to Julie, with the latter aiding her in one-on-one tasks. Stacy is also somewhat squeamish when it comes to more dire situations and doesn't think through what she says, and tends to speak in lingo. Stacy becomes Jody's girlfriend, building up for most of the episodes, but they break it off to work out personal issues. * Ashley Yorke (Tracey Moore): Ashley is a somewhat sociopathic child, taking joy in seeing obnoxious people suffer. She is willing to put down anyone who annoys her, regardless if said person is on good terms with her. As a result, she has very few friends and has no interest in making any new ones. Her hatred of obnoxious people appropriately stems from constant encounters with them growing up; this has even extended to her family, to the point she refuses to even share the same house with them, moving into her treehouse before getting taken in by Andy. Her parents and upper relatives are her polar opposites, being obnoxiously optimistic and friendly, but vicious when questioned. * Fiona Kennedy (Chantal Strand): Fiona seems to lack mental stability, showing no reluctance to bring about cruel and unusual punishments to anyone who crosses Francis or any of the other elites. Also tends to act like a dog, something she does to get attention. She is close to Ashley and tends to assist her when she goes her own way. She is revealed to be poor and lives in a trailer park. Fiona is from Mount Cory, Ohio. *'Georgina Sutcliffe (Tabitha St. Germain):' The school diva. Georgina originally hailed from Yorkshire and was a sheltered, boarding school attendee from a well-off family until they lost ownership of the school. They moved to New Brunswick to start a new life and their daughter would be forced to attend public school. Georgina is a girly-girl, slightly naive due to her still-developing grip on the middle-class town and was nasty for a while, but slowly changed throughout the series. Georgina is a curious girl who isn't afraid to get dirty every now and again, and has a bizarre fondness for gross things. This helped her become friends with Jenny, who considers most gross things on Earth a delicacy, as well as Sam who's work revolves around gross things. A running gag throughout the series is that Georgina always gets hit in the head by a ball. * Casandra (Nicole Oliver): The most popular student at Belbury Middle School. True to her title, Casandra is an obnoxious airhead, and few want to associate with her. She hardly antagonizes anyone though, and seems to be impatient with anyone she deems annoying. To the Survivors, her personality is endearing and she can be helpful if she wants to, but it's not as common. * Briana Waloski (Tabitha St. Germain): Daughter of Burt and Jade. Unlike her parents, Briana is wrapped up in her wealth and is quick to put lower class individuals down. Her behavior is due to insecurity; she had been bullied before her parents became rich. Her insults are thinly-veiled cries for friendship, though thankfully she was able to make connections with the Elites. * Monique Broderick (Stacey DePass): She is strangely idolized for her mysterious visage, something that irritates her, though she takes the high road and says nothing about it. Truthfully, she is very shy and finds it hard to hold one on one conversations. She enjoys listening to music and is mostly around for the ride. Is friends with Briana. * Deacon Madigan (Peter Kelamis): A typical emo with a dark sense of humor, and one of Jody's best friends. Any depressing musings from are followed with a quick joke and he gets sensitive when confronted. Deacon is more or less socially awkward and he goes with the emo facade to get out of social interactions. * Randy Honeywill (Matt Hill): Jody's other best friend and his equal. Randy is a bit more mischievous than the otherwise collected Jody. He has a tendency to work out worst possible scenarios and is able to come up with a solution if one of his plans backfire. Randy is Jody's first friend. Other members * Molly: Noted for her wrinkles and obscured overbite. * Trudy: Stacy's friend * Mackenzie "Mack": Stacy's cousin. * Whitney: A hiking enthusiast who serves as a rival to Stacy. Julie's Gang A team of bullies with a rigid moral compass. These bullies prefer to maintain order in the school and are opposed to those who tease and attack others without provocation. This wasn't the case until Julie became the leader and turned them to a more noble cause. * Colleen Dixon (Jillian Michaels): A meek girl who tends to keep to herself most of the time. Whenever she speaks, it's in the form of a sarcastic quip, no matter to whom. She is seen the most often with a hoodie and beanie, no matter the weather. * Victor Fulton (Peter Oldring): A toady boy with a unibrow and buck teeth. He's a dealer and a prankster who only acts when he knows he could get away with it. He often goes into things without thinking and tends to throw his friends into danger to save himself from any trouble. Other times, if the situation seems hopeless, Victor would do anything to get out of it. * Thaddeus "Corky" Winthrop: '''A timid mute boy who is best identified by the fact that he wears a bicycle helmet almost all of the time. While the point of ridicule, the helmet seems to be hiding Corky's weirdest trait, though some believe it's meant to cover a soft spot. Everyone refers to Corky by his actual name, Thaddeus, but only in Julie's circle do they call him Corky, and until Unusual Suspects, they didn't know what his actual name was. * '''Angela Asbrew (Stephanie Morgenstern): Kerry’s niece. Angela is a bit of a loner and generally anti-social. This was brought on by a troubled home life. She left her parents after they showed indifference to when she got separated from them and was sent to live with Kerry via a court order. Kerry wasn't any better at raising her, thanks to his mental issues, and it worsened her own bad aspects. Angela is insecure and lacks self-esteem. Angela lacks the initiative to go out and make friends, save for Selma since she shares her poor social skills. She suffers from chronic nosebleeds which typically occur when she's flustered. Among her interests are playing the piano and flying kites. * Megan Chavari (Vanessa Morley): A girl who's best identified by her buck teeth and trucker cap. She's passive aggressive and insecure, losing her cool when people make fun of her. Megan has trouble concentrating and it's suggested that she has some kind of learning disability, though this was hardly explored. She has a crush on Jerry, but he doesn't respond well to her advances as she chooses an aggressive approach. *'Dante Ahrens (Tony Sampson):' A bully of a mild nature. Dante doesn't seek to harm anyone unless they provoke him, or if someone hires him to. Over the course of the series, Dante attempts to better himself after feeling out of sync with his social status. He develops a crush on Julie and the two get together in the second season. Dante's appearance is based after Chevelle vocalist Pete Loeffler. *'Clifford (Brian Drummond):' A heavyset bully who's the muscle of the entire group. Clifford tends to bully other people on his own volition, but he claims it's not out of malicious desire, but rather for entertainment. He's more distant from the group and only seems to act with them on a business basis, and it's implied he suffers from some form of social anxiety. Antagonists * Suzy Hellman (Catherine Disher): The prime antagonist. Suzy serves as a statement on unchecked hypocrisy when it comes to social justice. She attacks students high up in the social food chain, while possessing traits of a typical diva. Early on she left the primary characters alone, but after succumbing to psychological torture, became more vicious. * Leland Byrd (Jan Rabson): Dakota's ex-husband. Byrd is an eccentric land tycoon who seeks to use youth to construct detention centers for the sake of rehabilitating juvenile delinquents. Filled with (often just) confidence, he makes no effort to stop his enemies from trying to escape, as he takes every route to prevent their escape (even trapping himself as an extra measure.) He makes his last appearance in Suziopath, where he is swayed into leaving Belbury out of his longterm goals and takes his business to Africa, acquiring political dissidents to do his work. Other Prominent Characters * Kerry Hubbard (Stephen Ouimette): Angela's uncle and a realtor. Kerry seems to lack mental stability, often quick to go into extremes if no one's around to keep him in line. His obsession with integrity puts him at odds with Angela, thanks to her more rebellious nature. Kerry was once married to Hope Chapley, through a shotgun marriage, but he broke up with her due to her being more unhinged than him. The root of Kerry's mental problems has never been identified, though it's believed he suffers from Bipolar Disorder. Kerry had attempted to remain with the Stakes, but he gradually grew apart from them and defected to the Committee, especially after Lars teased him more aggressively. Kerry's Armenian, and it's established in Die-Section. Kerry's from Manchester, Iowa. * Cosmo Kadic (Roger Dunn): A principal at Belbury Middle School. Cosmo is prideful and quick to get instigated when challenged. Beyond his closest friends and family, he seemingly cares little about the well-being of others, shown by him tormenting numerous students whilst he was in college. He also seems to use his job as principal to let out his more sociopathic tendencies, all to enforce his role as principal. The means he goes to do this is a reason why numerous supernatural beings attend the school, and also why he and Ms. Chapley are the only constant members of the faculty. In spite of his demeanor, he doesn't actively hate anyone unless they antagonize him. Cosmo's demeanor stems from the death of his wife and his reluctance to start a new relationship. From Great Falls, Montana. * Ned Sandoval (Hiro Kanagawa): Ned is a generally weird man, having a strong obsession with aliens and doing various unorthodox things when not in the company of others. He often refers to everything as "fascinating", paying no mind to what's happening to or around him. As a result of his behavior he's often left out of various activities and his wife is more favored than him. Ned seemed to have been little more than a punching bag or a meat shield to the Stakes, and he was often the butt of many jokes, though he seems ignorant of that. From Wahpeton, North Dakota. * Bob Dixon (Howard Jerome): Colleen's father. For a time, he was the strongest man in Belbury, best known for his dexterity and better resistance to pain. This was compromised when he was involved in a car accident, breaking his back and both of his ankles in the process. Years of recovery rendered him out of shape and he walks with the aid of a cane. Bob came from Anderson, Missouri and was often the victim of teasing due to him being Jewish in one of the more prominent parts of the Bible Belt, and as a result he found it hard to truly trust anyone, leading to a mild sense of contempt with the world. His wife Enid and daughter Colleen, along with most members of the neighborhood are exceptions as they share similar views to him. Bob is envisioned as a "Jewish Archie Bunker." * Burton Waloski (Richard Newman): A billionare who's the wealthiest resident in Belbury. Contrary to the archetype, Burton is a very generous man, who's willing to help lower class individuals. Due to his moderate nature, he is hardly taken seriously and tends to be the only one who has any opposition to what his neighbors do. From Kellogg, Idaho. * Jade Waloski (Linda Ballantyne): Burton's wife. Seemingly poised as a trophy wife, Jade is actually a very intelligent woman, being the only one in the neighborhood to graduate with a degree, though she was never able to find a career in her field that made her happy. Jade is a timid and frail hypochondriac who is often seen with her husband and is reluctant to stand on her own. From Rapid City, South Dakota. * Amber Meeks (Patricia Drake): Amber's a bit high strung, though this doesn't completely overtake her personality. Amber cares deeply for her family, and tends to be very emotional. In the past, she was a rebellious girl, something that led to her and an estranged sister getting turned into werewolves, and Amber's still hurt by that. From Dover-Foxcroft, Maine. * Enid Dixon (Linda Kash): Colleen's mother. Basically Bob's equal, Enid had been a victim of bullying due to her height along with a rumor of her supposedly having a green nipple, and she had also been a victim of religion-related bullying as she came from a state within the bible belt. While Enid often goes against Bob's means of parenting most of the time, she is still strict and mostly old-fashioned. She reportedly started the "silent sixteen" movement for people unwilling to take part in political affairs. Enid is from Batesville, Arkansas. * Majel Sandoval (Nicole Oliver): Ned's wife. Contrary to her more eccentric husband, Majel is neurotic and seemingly depressed. Compared to other couples, she is desperate to get rid of her husband, to the point she is willing to let him go into space for some alone time (A Star Too Far). She is more favored than her husband due to her neighbors being equally cynical. Beyond her nature, she finds reprieve in shoegaze music and science-fiction. Majel seems to favor Jenny more than Jerry, vice versa with her husband. From Greeley, Colorado. * Henrietta "Hen" Perrino (Sally Cahill): Hen is a cold and calculating woman who seeks to get her way by any means necessary. Hen has an inferiority complex, brought on by an otherwise critical home-life, and has picked up some of those habits into adulthood. Her name is actually a new identity, for after her father forced her to take a job that prevented her from getting a more preferable one, she faked her death and fled home. Hen is Majel's best friend, the two of them knew each other from high school through to college and occasionally get together when the committee isn't up, plus Majel is the only one who knows Hen better than anyone else, even her family. From Ardmore, Oklahoma. * Delta Meeks (Ellen Ray Hennessy): Amber's mother. Delta used to work as an English teacher before she was goaded into an early retirement. Delta is a friendly woman who prefers to approach every issue with caution, only breaking that principal when driven to the edge. * Autumn Dunlop (Kathleen Barr): Known for being the mother of Leon, the boy who got cursed in Birth on the Daily. Autumn works for NASA, but had recently been laid off after allegedly stealing materials from a rocket, along with her plan to run tanks on the moon for fear of aliens. She had also worked in the army as a nurse before getting dispatched for hijacking a tank. Beyond her often loopy behavior, she surprisingly gets along with Andy and his friends, particularly Nika. Autumn is South African, but was born and a native to Vernal, Utah. It's said she was inspired by a character from the Game Boy game Cosmo Tank. * Andy Hammond (Scott McNeil): An uppity man who rarely holds back when it comes to criticizing people. Andy is generally anti-social, which heavily affected his work life because of his penchant to snap. His attitude enabled him to earn a relationship with Chris, later Autumn and Martha when they met. In spite of his demeanor, he could surprisingly be reasoned with once someone talks to him long enough, and he's seemingly not very bright, as he tends to go against his own social doctrines by accident. His poor depiction of the world stems from his introverted nature, and as a result he reacts to things differently than anyone normally would. Andy holds no contempt toward anyone, save for those he deems to be rotten by nature. Andy grew up in Lander, Wyoming. * Mike Stearns (Garry Chalk): A sour man and a frequent complainer. In the books, he was a frequent critic of several African American movements, particularly the Black Panthers; this was toned down for the series, but allusions still suffice. Compared to people like Martha and Andy, Mike isn't as misanthropic as them; while Andy and Martha merely comment on something negatively knowing full well they can't do anything about it, Mike is more vocal about his dissatisfaction, to the annoyance of the otherwise silent circle he's in. Mike's from Roswell, New Mexico. * Chris Hancock (Collin Murdock): A downbeat man. Chris tends to be the middleman in his circle, tending to try and stop any confrontation with a quick comment. Chris suffers from depression, something the others have caught on to and they attempt to keep their interactions leveled to avoid setting him off. Unlike Andy or Martha, Chris is an introvert by choice. He was unable to maintain lasting relationships and had a very bad relationship with his father, along with some poorly decided career choices where he had to put up with condescending superiors. That aspect gave him a complex where he immediately rebuffs anyone who's quick to criticize (Andy's an exception to this, possibly because Chris knows Andy does it by nature.) Chris grew up in Eureka, Nevada and works at an electronics store. * Montgomery Proctor (David Hemblen): A former warlock. Monte suffers from narcolepsy, and is a bit of a milquetoast. He had viewed Hanneke lowly for many years, due to her downplaying his issues. It culminated in him cursing her and Jupiter into becoming monsters, causing them to leave Belbury until the neighborhood forgot about them. Both fulfill the terms of their curses and Hanneke and Monte part on good terms. Monte's from West Bridgewater, Massachusetts. * Muriel MacPherran (Terri Hawkes): Mack's mother. Muriel is a tomboyish woman who has fought in the Vietnam War (disguised as a man), took up work as a fisherman and rode with a motorcycle gang, before getting done in by a one-night stand with a man, leading to an unexpected pregnancy. She settled in Belbury and primarily hangs out with Dakota. Beyond her rough exterior, Muriel is a caring mother who gets along well with her kids and has become something of a godmother to the Mahoneys. A running gag throughout the show is that she always needs to urinate. From Hart, Michigan. * Hope Chapley (Nicole Oliver): A haggard teacher at Belbury Jr. High. Like Kerry, she enforces moralism, but to a far grander, often sinister extent, to the point she's willing to let people die just to teach them a lesson. She was formally married to Kerry (apparently done through a shotgun marriage), but he wound up leaving her. In spite of her profession, Hope vehemently hates children, especially her class, directing it the most to Julie and her friends to the point she tries to get them expelled with her attempts either failing to go anywhere or backfiring when they strike back against her. Her efforts led to her getting fired or her pay getting docked, but she always returns by the start of the next episode. Beyond teaching, Ms. Chapley also does maintenance work around the school. It's implied that she rarely leaves the school, but the circumstances behind this were never confirmed. * Daphne Kadic: Cosmo's estranged wife. She is mentioned frequently in each episode but has never been seen. Details on her life were revealed throughout the series from her childhood to her adult years. As a kid, Daphne was a tomboyish girl who loved flowers and often picked on Cosmo. When she turned 25 she left to join the army but was sent out of the battlefield due to her losing her hand in combat. She took a job as a waitress at a diner and reunited with Cosmo, eventually marrying him. Daphne is killed a month prior to the pilot telefilm and it heavily affected Cosmo since then. * Mercury MacPheran (Bryn McAuley): Mack's eldest sister. Mercury is vanity laden and vain, a harsh contrast to her more tomboyish mother and sister. Although, she greatly opposes others like her who're more obnoxious over looks, and tends to bully said individuals. Mercury is also very insecure and unable to handle jokes done at her expense. She is friends with Adelaide and Linda. * Brian and Phoebe Hellman (Andrew Kavadas and Tabitha St. Germain respectively): Suzy's parents. The two are dark and elusive, always bearing agitated looks. People have been fearful of them due to their living habits or have already crossed their daughter. Truthfully, they're harmless but are unwilling to interact. Brian is Greek, and is a malevolent man who is prone to dark monologues. He is also somewhat liberal but doesn't go into politics. Phoebe is Croatian, is a bit more fierce and has little patience for anyone she feels won't help her in any way. Converse to her husband, Phoebe is a staunch Republican but is ironically an atheist. Brian's from Pekin, Illinois and Dallas is from Vale, Oregon. * Gutter (Garry Chalk): A superintendent for Belbury Middle School. Gutter is a wealthy and harsh man, but he tries to keep his priorities straight. He cares deeply for the well being of the school and is sensitive over strict figures, having grown up in post-World War II and dealing with shell-shocked authority figures. He only appears in the pilot, where he relays info via the phone and letters, finally appearing at the end where he fires principal Killup after Selma causes him to lose his temper and returning the position to Cosmo. He is seen playing golf during the frog outbreak in Die-Section. Gutter was listed as one of the few people to back Byrd's campaign in Narcissists of the World Unite. In Photo Finished, he is revealed to have been noted by the IRS and he lost his position as superintendent, as Cosmo was shown celebrating his promotion to it in Suziopath. Episodes Pilot Season 1 Began in March of 2001 and ended in January of 2002. Reception The series was initially criticized for promoting anti-social behavior, but was commended for its atmosphere and writing. The show was often referred to as the Canadian equivalent to shows like The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy and Invader Zim due to its absurdity and dark humor, but has also been compared to Courage the Cowardly Dog. Home Media The Halloween Kids was released on DVD in Canada through Kaboom! Entertainment, Peace Arch Entertainment and Nelvana, through Warner Home Video. It contained the entire series and the pilot telefilm, along with interviews with the creators and writers. Category:Fake TV Shows Category:Canadian TV series Category:American TV Series Category:English-language shows Category:Fake TV Shows that air on Real Channels Category:Animated series Category:Animation